A Promise through The Bars
by PlainJane101
Summary: During imprisonment, Snow White sees young, beautiful women come and go. All the women were the same - they rarely spoke to her and dwelled over their sure deaths. That all changes when a woman named Sara is imprisoned. Just before Sara is killed, she makes Snow White promise something. Can Snow keep this promise? Or will she be too late? SW's pov.
1. Chapter 1 Is This Reality?

**I saw this movie yesterday and thought it was a good movie. I definitely will buy it on dvd when it comes out. Though, the movie did lack in character development except The Queen and The Huntsman in my opinion. Of course, though. This will have my twists in it. (Just a warning: I do change some of the characters' personalities)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Snow White characters and I have also noticed that authors like inkydoo are rewriting the story, so I give credit to any other authors and inkydoo who decided to rewrite the movie before me. **

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**Chapter 1 _Is This Reality?_**

Death – only a thing yearned by those ill of mind and simply welcomed by those who are certain of where their souls will reside in the afterlife.

Am I ill of mind or am I simply welcoming it? Am I just imagining young, beautiful women being dragged to the cell across from mine by those wretched Black Glass Knights…then the Knights take them to the Queen sometime later and when the women come back, they are nothing but bones in a burlap sack? Or am I in reality? Are these young, frightened women really being drained of their life so the Queen can maintain her youth? I could sit here all day in my cell plucking the petals of twenty-thousand daisies and still not arrive to an answer.

There's a soft squeaking sound from beneath my bed. The sound tickles my ears. My stomach must have ears too, because it grumbles with hunger. Another meal of rat won't hurt.

Quietly so as not to disturb the little rodent, I slowly swing my left leg over the bed's edge, waiting for the rodent to run out.

Rarely am I successful with catching rats for dinner, but sometimes if I time it just right, I crush to creature's skull with the heel of my dark leather boot, leaving me the body to roast and eat.

It's a funny way as to how I learned to kill rats. After my mother's death from an inexplicable illness in my seventh year, a mysterious army of black knights appeared, declaring war upon Tabor. My father, King Magnus, rallied his knights, rode out and met the black army head on despite the grief that weighed heavily on his heart.

I have heard talk from my father's men that when they bashed their shields and thrusted their blades into the black knights, they shattered into shards of black glass.

Once the battle was won and the black army defeated, father found a beautiful captive woman named Ravenna. He fell for her charms instantly and dismissed the black shards of glass about the battlefield as a mere dream.

When I first laid eyes on her, she was upon my father's horse, her filthy…graceful arms snaked about his waist. He rode his horse through the main gate almost…haughtily, leading his men into the castle grounds.

Perhaps my perception of him at the time was influenced by the murmurs that floated about my ears. My father was a good King, but I have seen him yell at his servants for no apparent reason. He claimed that he saw them do things they'd never done, such as dropping dishes or breaking vases.

I even began to call him Mad Magnus behind his back. In short, he was ill of mind, proud, arrogant, and a lover of the company of women even when my mother was still alive. When my mother died, he and my friend William were all I had, but to be honest with myself, my father wasn't much.

So I had to lean upon William.

Anyhow, my father planned on wedding Ravenna the following day. I remember sitting on a window sill in my best dress watching two women servants dress Ravenna in a white and gold embroidered wedding gown. She was so beautiful. Her long fair tresses draped down her shoulders and her blue green eyes gazed at me kindly…it reminded me of my mother's gaze at the time and I couldn't stop myself from saying "You look so beautiful. Your eyes remind me of my mom."

Her shapely dark lips curled up into a loving smile, revealing flawless white teeth.

"That's very kind of you." She said. "I know that I could never be your mother, but I hope I can give you a mother's love." Ravenna pulled her arm from a servant who was tying the laces of the gown's sleeve and held her hand out to me. "Come here."

I couldn't stop the smile that grew on my face as I jumped from the sill and took two long strides towards her. She kneeled to my height and took my hands in hers, disregarding the servants who began weaving her hair into intricate braids. Ravenna's eyes shone with a love that I hadn't known since my mother died as she said "I feel that you and I are bound."

Before I knew it, I walked behind Ravenna's long, gold and white striped cape down the aisle. As we continued on down the white carpeted aisle, everyone's gaze was turned to the beautiful woman in front of me. I could only have imagined the smile that graced her features, but that thought shattered when she looked at me past her shoulder, the loving look in her eyes gone and replaced with…sadness…I began to wonder if she had heard of my father's sins. Then the sadness quickly left as her eyes became stern. Some anger played in them.

I couldn't and still can't quite place why these emotions clouded her entrancing face, but I only remember the heart-gripping fear that rendered my feet to a halt. Only did I move when Duke Hammond, my father's close friend, gently pushed me onward.

I wished I could've seen the emotions that shown on her face as she accepted my father's outstretched hand, bowed to him, and then took his left side as the priest performed the wedding ceremony.

The wedding concluded quicker than I expected and I went to bed that night still dwelling over Ravenna's gaze. She had looked at me with love, then sorrow, then anger. But as I dreamt of the sorrow and anger that she had, her sorrow was for herself and for me, but her anger seemed directed…at my father. It was as if she said "Look Snow. What your father's done, what he's drawn me too, has wrought the very anger of me."

The pounds of horses' hooves, the clashing of metal against metal, and the muffled shouts of men had roused me from my light sleep. I ran to the only person that I could've run to at the moment for comfort from the haunting sounds. My father. When I ran down the dark hall and into my father's room, my blood ran cold when I saw him.

A dagger was plunged through his chest and blood stained his white tunic. His bearded face that I had come to adore and despise was pallid and drained of life. His green veins protruded through his cheeks and forehead and the brown of his eyes had faded, a glossy film covering the eyeballs.

I then screamed as loud as I could. I imagined Ravenna coming to my rescue and leading me away from the dreadful sight before me. No one came but the Black Glass Knights.

I was too naïve to know it was them though. At first I thought them as some intruders that managed to slay my father, but when one of my father's men came and pierced one of the Black Knight's with his blade, the Knight shattered to glass. The man fought off the other Knights, shouting for me to run and get away as he continued to take them on, but I couldn't move once more…not as I watched the first Knight that had shattered rematerialize into himself again!

They were invincible…The Black Knight that had rematerialized thrusted his blade through the man's gut while another Black Knight decapitated him.

I stood there, petrified with a fear that I never felt before as I watched the man's head roll around on the floor. His head bumped into my slippers, the blood at his neck soaking the hem of my white nightgown. His terrified eyes met mine! His eyes…they then blinked once, quick and precise.

I screamed once more, turned, and took off running down the hall, leaving my father's dead body and the rolling head to the Black Knights! As I ran, I remember I kept calling myself a coward, but a part of me kept contending with the other that mocked my fear, asking me what else could I do? Father's dead, man's dead, how could a little girl intervene and stop all the Black Glass Knights?

That little girl couldn't do anything but run. So I ran and ran, turned down corners and ran down corridors that I wasn't familiar with. My lungs burned and tears cascaded down my cheeks, blurring my vision. I remember hearing the thuds of the Black Knights' glass boots as they chased after me. My head rolling around on the floor was the only thing that I saw as I soon began to blindly run and feel my way around the castle, searching for the exit.

"Princess, what are you doing?" a man's voice cried out. Relief surged throughout my body when I felt his arms wrap about my waist. He picked me up and ran off with me.

"Hurry! Let's go, let's go!" I heard Duke Hammond shout as I felt myself hoisted up into a saddle. I was still blinded by my tears, the flames, the screams of women and children, neighing horses, my head rolling on the ground, my father, the man's head...all my surroundings. But I kept telling myself that I am getting out of here. I am going to make it!

I let salvation cloud my thinking too soon. Blood sprinkled on me and the man that had saved my life fell off the horse dead! I couldn't hold back my frantic gasps and screams as the horse I was on reared up and neighed, throwing me off its back and onto the ground.

The world about me grew more and more distant, more and more quiet as the glow of flames dimmed and the screams quieted down. The blood that was on me did not bother me anymore. I told myself the cold liquid drops were rain. Slowly, I surrendered to the blackness that quickly advanced upon my mind.

Before I completely surrendered to the darkness, I remember hearing William's voice. It was far off at first, but it became closer, louder, and clearer as I fought off the darkness.

"Snow, come on!" He shouted. I opened my eyes and saw him through the fire, running towards me with outstretched arms.

"William!" I rose to my feet, ignoring the shocking pain from the fall off the horse's back as I ran towards him. I would have made it to him if not for the fire that separated us. William had started to go around the fire to get to me, but his father, Duke Hammond's hand came about his waist and pulled his flailing body onto his horse.

William pleaded with his father to get me, but when I was grabbed by a white haired man that I have never seen before, Duke Hammond pounded his horse's flanks and rode off with the others fortunate enough to escape into the night. The main gate closed as soon as he disappeared, locking in some men, women, and children servants along with me.

Then Ravenna came into view past the flames and started giving orders to the Black Glass Knights. It was then I realized that she was the one leading the army. Well, she had succeeded.

The anger and hatred that I had for her at that moment…as she approached me, I lashed out at her, but was held back by the man who captured me. She was quick in her dealings with me and with the others trapped.

She had the men and male children killed and the women, female children, and I locked away in the North Tower which was a prison. All the while, Ravenna spared me but one glance. That glance was full of sorrow as I was thrown into the cell. She said no words as she had the other women and children stuffed into the few empty cells. Ravenna told the Black Glass Knights that I was "for reserve".

What she meant I'll never know, but she soon forgot about me.

I used to have meals brought to me daily, but as the cells about me started to empty and be refilled with burlap sacks of the women's bones, the daily meals became weekly. When the meals started coming once every two weeks, I realized that I would soon starve if I didn't find something else to eat.

I tried saving some food for later, but the bread would rot before I could get a bite out of it. Every now and then, I would talk to little rats that scampered about my cell to keep me company when no one was left to talk too. Yes, the rats loved to bite my ankles and wrists, but I still spoke with them since they were the only living things around.

One day, I had enough and I couldn't contain my hunger anymore. When I felt an unexpected nip at my ankle, I turned to see a rat's teeth sunken into my skin as he drew blood from me. I remember I couldn't stop the drool slipping down the sides of my mouth as I reached out with greedy hands.

The rat saw my incoming hands and released my ankle, jumping and sinking his teeth into my hand. It didn't matter. I laid my occupied hand to the ground as he continued to bury his fangs further into my skin. Arcing my free hand back, I swiftly brought it forward onto the rat's back. I had aimed for its neck, but the satisfying crunch of its spine gave me my life saving meal.

I started a fire and held the rat over the adolescent flames on a stick. I learned how to start a fire from watching the older women across my cell start a flame using pieces of ripped fabric from their dresses and the sticks they found lying around their cell.

When I started to learn how to catch rats using myself as bait, I soon started to run out of clothing to start fires. I barely had enough rags on my body. That's when the white haired man, whom I later learned from the other women that he was Finn, Queen Ravenna's brother, started watching me in my sleep. It was unsettling at first, but as the days passed, I became accustomed to it.

During the day, Finn would leave to tend to Queen Ravenna. His absence provided me with the opportunities to create a long pole like contraption with a hook at the end that allowed me to reach into the cell opposite of me. I hoped that in the burlap sacks of brittle bones would be some clothes that I could wear.

One day, I stuck the stick through the bars and into the other cell. As carefully as I could, I maneuvered the hook through the pile of skulls and to one of the burlap sacks. Ripping one open with the hook I made from a nail sticking outside my small window, I found a ragged blue dress almost intact. I ripped the dress several times as I worked it out of the bag, through the bars of the cell and into the bars of my cell.

Then I shook the dress free of bones and slipped it on my body, suddenly itchy from the material. I told myself though that either I am bare for Finn or dressed for modesty in revolting clothes. I stuck with the modesty. At least the rats would have to bite through the dress to get to my ankles.

The days went on and on and I saw women come and go. I asked each of them their names. Anne, Maria, Hannah, Grace, Sophia, Johanna, Julia...I think there was an Annemarie. All the women whimpered and cowered in the cell opposite of me and all I could do was sit and watch. I told them repeatedly that they would be alright and that nothing was going to happen to them, but they would cast their glances between me and the skulls and burlap sacks of bones behind them until they were taken away to become their own bag of brittle bones.

Water was a scarcity. I did my best with the few raindrops that fell from the sky. During the winter, I scooped snow from the outside of my window and boiled it in my chamberpot...I was disgusted at first, but I had no other container to boil water in.

Eventually, I became use to my system of survival. Usually one rat, maybe two every other day, water from outside, and fabric I used for cover and cooking from the corpses in the cell across from me.

One day while I was gathering some water from outside during a rainstorm, a woman was dragged to the cell and thrown into it. The Black Knights paid no attention to me and left. I asked her her name, which I can't recall, but I remember she had some nice dark leather boots on her feet. I looked down at my bare feet and back to hers, seeing how similar our feet were in size.

I did the sickening routine I had, my stomach churning as I lied to her and told her that she'd be alright. "Yes, I believe you." She said sarcastically. She didn't speak to me afterwards, but I sat in at the cell door, at least letting her see that she's not alone.

Later on in the evening, the Black Glass Knights came and took her out of the cell, dragging her flailing form down the dark, cold stone hall and disappearing around the left corner into the shadow with the slam of the wooden door. I resumed to boiling my water and drinking it and nibbling on a little rat leg before going to bed.

When they brought her body back, she was dead, but not a bag of bones. Her skin still clang to her body and when the Black Glass Knights dropped her body on the stone floor, she broke and crumbled to dust. I pretended to sleep and waited for the Black Knights to leave. Once the wooden door shut and the heavy thuds of their glass boots quieted, I rose from my bed and laid on my stomach, reaching beneath my bed and grabbing my hook contraption.

I was able to grab the boots. It was an arduous task, but as the sunrise bathed my cell in warm light, I shook her dust from the boots and slipped them on my feet. They were nice boots and I tested the heels of the boots against the stone, realizing that I didn't have to use myself to bait rats anymore. I could just crush their heads with these!

With some practice, I was able to get the hang of it, crushing their heads instead of their backs and tails.

Now here I am, watching the ground intently, patiently waiting for my meal to run out.

The rat runs out into view and before I allow another thought to cross my brain, I bring my heel down on the rat's skull.

"Yes." I exclaim through gritted teeth as I jump from my bed and pick up the headless rat! Another rat! My second one this day! If there are two things this castle doesn't run out of, it's rats and women. Well, the women brought to the cell are few nowadays, but they still come.

"No! Please don't!" A woman screams. I hear the heavy thuds of the Black Glass Knights' boots and the slam of the wooden door. Setting the rat on my bed, I mindlessly walk to the bars and grip them, bracing myself to futilely comfort another woman bound for death. Peering through the bars, the woman screams and kicks in the arms of the Black Knights, throwing her head from side to side as they approach the cell.

One Knight reaches out with the cell key, unlocks the door, and throws her in. As quickly as she is thrown in, the Black Knight slams the door shut and locks it.

The Black Glass Knights turn and leave, the rhythmic thud of their boots fading as they turn the corner and disappear into the shadow. The wooden door slams and the woman lets out a small sob. I turn my gaze back to her shuddering form. Her long black locks quake with her heaving shoulders as she buries her head further in the folds of her dress.

I take a shaky breath as my stomach churns once again…I wonder if me being "for reserve" is about to come to an end. No matter. I welcome death should it come.

"Listen, it'll be alright. You'll be fine." I begin. I feel tears start to sting my eyes as she lifts her red face. She stares back at me with watery eyes, tears silently soaking her grimy cheeks.

"I-I know what's going to hap-happen to me. Thank you, though." She chokes out. She clears her throat and inhales a shuddery breath.

"Wha-what's your name?" I stutter. I cringe as she unsteadily rises to her feet and pushes her face through the bars.

"Sara."

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**How's the ending? I think u guys can guess who Sara is. Anyways, next update should be on July 10-11.**


	2. Chapter 2 A Favor

**I just want to thank LenaLove for their review! Alright then, let's jump right in, shall we?**

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**Chapter 2 _A Favor_**

"Sara…th-that's a beautiful name." I say. What else can I say?

"Thank you." Sara's eyes fall shut as she heaves a breath through her nostrils. Her eyes open again.

"Do they feed the prisoners?" She asks. Images of her body as a bag of bones, her skull piled up with the rest flashes across my mind. I shake my head. "Right." She mutters, bowing her head in despair as she falls to her knees and smacks her lips.

"Do they" She smacks her lips again as she raises her eyes and meets mine. "give prisoners water?"

"When they imprisoned me here, they soon forgot of me…that or they left me to starve and rot until I die."

"So in short, they don't give prisoners food or water? Nothing?" She stared at me, her eyes demanding answers. I go to answer, opening my mouth, but I close it. What can I say? Yes? No? Maybe? I'm not even sure if I'm living in the reality!

Despite Sara's demanding gaze, she waits patiently for my response.

I lower my eyes to the stone floor in an attempt to avoid her.

There before me…is a basket of daisies! The oblong white petals shine radiantly in the dim light and their yellow centers wink at me with Sara's impending doom.

Falling back on my heels, I reach out between the bars and pick the largest daisy I see. Bringing it into my cell, I clutch the sweet-smelling flower close to my chest and brush a smooth white petal with the pads of my fingers. Now I can answer the question to whether this is reality or if this is a dream...a horrid dream.

"Real." I say, plucking the petal from the flower and letting it fall into my lap.

"Not real." I pluck the next petal and it joins the first.

"Real." Another one falls. "Not real." I pluck the next. "Real…Not real…real…not real…real…not real…not real…not real…just a dream…I'm dreaming…death…welcome…real…real…real, real, real." Hot anger courses through me as I repeat the word "real" through my gritted teeth.

"Real, real, real!"

"Hey! Stop!" Sara shouts. I jump at her voice and see that there is no daisy in my hands and no white petals in my lap…my hands are shredded and drops of blood soak into the faded blue fabric of my dress. I quickly lift my gaze to search for the basket of daisies, but I find nothing. Just the dark, cold stone floor and the bars of my cell.

Am I…am I losing my mind?

"Sara, wasn't th-there a basket of daisies there?" I ask frantically, pointing a shaky finger through the bars at the stone floor where the basket of daisies were.

I search her shocked features for answers, but her jaw hangs agape and tears start to trickle down her cheeks.

"How long have you been up here?" She asks her voice thick with concern.

"I don't…I don't know." I say through deep breaths. I lost track of time after awhile of trying to survive off the scraps that I had. I stopped caring…I only wanted to survive.

Sara's eyes grow wide as she gawks at me from head to knee, knee to head.

"You're…you're King Magnus' daughter!" Sara's tears trail down her grimy cheeks, washing away the dirt in their paths. "You're alive! The whole of Tabor thought you dead!" She beams at me with her realization and laughs in delight as she clasps the bars of her cell.

"I can't believe it! There's still hope!" Just watching her excitement for my existence, I feel something fuzzy and warm form in my chest.

As quickly as the feeling comes, I push it away. I can't quite place the feeling…happiness perhaps, anger, sadness…

Hope, that's it. I felt it before. I felt it before when I saw William make his way towards me through the flames. I felt it before when I thought I might make it out of this cell. But hope only led me to further imprisonment! Soon enough, I taught myself not to accept hope and a built a ice wall around my heart to keep that warmth from it…so that way I was not tricked again into thinking that I would be saved.

To throw her off my track of hopelessness, I force the warmest, yet feign smile I can give her through the bars and nod. Her smile grows wider as the tears start to become fewer.

Sara releases the handle bars and rubs her eyes with the heels of her hands. A moment after, her hands fall into her lap and she grabs folds of her dress, burying her face into the fabric and wiping it clean.

I just sit and watch as she lifts her head and sighs with a smile, the grime and tears wiped clean from her face. Sara…why doesn't she dwell over her certain death like the other women? Why doesn't she try to find a way out like some of them did? How…HOW can she keep a smile on her face in a time like this?

"So, how has your day been?" Sara asks, the smile growing ever wider.

"What?" Is all I can say. Is she being sarcastic? She's going to die and her last words will be "How is your day?"! What kind of final words are those?

"How is your day?" She repeats with a smile, her eyes starting show her happy vibe.

"Are you…" I begin, jumping to my feet and rushing to the small window, pointing out at the blaring sun that will border the horizon soon. "even aware what's going to happen to you once that damn sun sets?" I keep my gaze on her, expecting her to scream and cower into the farthest corner of the cell, whimpering and crying to no end, but instead, she looks back at me, the smile waning off her face as she says "I know. But why dwell over it? To what avail will it do me?"

Her response catches me off guard, rendering me motionless as shakes her head and lowers her gaze to her left hand. I suddenly feel ashamed of myself. She's so different from all those other women behind her. Instead of weeping, she smiles, instead of cowering, she stands firm. And here I stand, mocking her disposition.

The onslaught of shame pushes my face between the bars and onto my knees. Sara continues to finger what looks to be her knuckle as the shame starts to weigh on my heart, cracking the ice wall that I so carefully put together. A large chunk of the ice wall promptly falls into my chilled heart and pierces it, bringing my lips to utter the words "I'm sorry."

Sara lifts her eyes to mine.

"I'm sorry. I…" I trail off.

A smile claims residence on her lips as she shakes her head, saying "What is there to forgive?" That warm, fuzzy feeling comes back and the fracture in the ice wall fails to keep it at bay. Hope seeps in and envelopes my heart. It starts a small flame in me and I feel my surprisingly tense muscles relax for the first time in…ever.

I always stand ready to crush the skull of a rat and I always keep vigilant for that raincloud that sometimes brings me water. Never have the muscles in my body been alleviated! There's that fear of missing food and water that pushes them to remain poised for action. Now as I see Sara, I feel that fear release its hold on me and allow me ease and rest.

I let go a breath that I realize I had been holding. I relish in the moment, pressing my face further between the bars.

Sara's smile ebbs quickly and her gaze wanders off as she rubs her belly. The moment spoils quicker than I would have fancied it too.

"Are you pregnant?" I blurt out. What came out of my mouth just now I did not mean!

Sara chuckles as she looks back at me, replying "No, I'm not. I'm just hungry." I remember the rat on my bed!

"Here!" I jump to my feet and take a bound to my bed, picking up the headless creature and taking it to the bars. Holding out the rat for her to see, I say "I'll give you some of this. Just let me cook it." Sara protests. "No!"

"But if you let-"

"No. You need to eat it. I don't need it."

"But-" She cuts me off.

"Please, eat it." Sara's smile turns to a sad one as I bring the rat's body back into my cell, setting it on the floor.

My mind runs blank as Sara awkwardly shifts her sitting position, drawing her legs beneath her.

"May I ask…you a question?"

"Of course, anything." I pull my legs beneath me and straighten my back, waiting.

"What do you do when you bleed?"

"Excuse me?" What does she mean? She gazes at me through the bars as she says "You and I are both women. Do you not bleed?"

"Oh…I do." My mouth becomes parch all of a sudden, thinking of how many bloody rags I burn after my monthly bleed. I point to the bags behind her. "I just…I use the clothes from the dead women in…in those sacks."

Sara turns her head to the heaps of skulls and ripped bags spilling dirty bones into the horrid graveyard.

"Usually…a dress or something will be in one of the bags. You can just rip one open and grab their clothes." Sara shakes her head. She turns her teary eyes towards me as she says "I am not one to shuffle through another's remains…well, I'm not to that point…yet."

Her gaze then drifts above my head. I follow her stare out the small window and see that the sun is nearly set, casting an eerily red hue to the grey clouds looming over the jagged cliff that the castle was built on. Soon the Black Glass Knights will come and lead Sara to her death. When the blood-red sun sets, I will hear the petrifying thud of their glass boots and the screams of the woman as they drag her to the Queen.

"Listen, could you do me a favor?" Sara draws me out of my reverie. I turn back to look at her as she lowers her gaze to her hand, fiddling with her finger.

In the closing black of night, I notice a plain band about her left forefinger.

"Is that a marriage band?" I ask. It's hard to tell in the dim light, but I can just hear her smile as she answers "Yes."

"It's hard to see, but it looks beautiful."

Sara laughs lightly. "It's a simple silver band that's tarnishing."

"I think…I think tarnishing makes a ring look prettier."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps you're the right person to ask."

"What do you want me to do?" The sun sets, leaving Sara and I in complete darkness. Silence falls about us and the only sound I hear is the crash of the ocean's waves against the rocky shore. I hear Sara's quiet sobs, but I see nothing. The coldness from outside rushes through the small window, assaulting my body with each of its painful pricks. All of these only aids in fear's slow, but threatening advance upon the small flame of hope that had been ignited in me.

I cringe as I hear Sara's request choked out past her quiet tears "Can you take my ring a-and give it to my husband…if you ever see him?"

"Wh-" A large slam of an iron door sounds throughout the darkness and then…and then I hear it! The thud of their glass boots!

"Please!" She begs. In the darkness, I see her black figure sit up and the outline of her right arm stretching through the bars.

"Please!" I quickly push my arm through the bars and squint to see in the dark. The thud of the glass boots grow closer!

"Hurry!" She shouts. She grunts and groans as I see her frame shift. The thud grows louder and louder as I reposition myself, easing my arm out further between the bars. Spasms of pain spread from my arm and to my chest as the thuds grow louder still!

The thuds pound against my eardrums as panic settles in me! I frantically wave my arm about in the black, trying desperately to reach Sara's hand and retrieve the tarnishing silver band from her! I wish I could just stop time and ask her the questions I want.

Who is your husband? What does he look like? Why do you want me to give it to him if I ever see him? What makes you think I might even get out?

Something inside my head pounds against my skull, wanting to be free. The thuds of the glass boots torment my ears to no end.

"Just a bit further!" She cries. I wave my arm, stretch my fingers and brush against her pads.

The thuds are so close. I stop stretching and turn my gaze to see two large Black Glass Knights approaching, closing the gap between us and them with each thud of their heavy boots! Turning my wide eyes back in horror, I see her black silhouette withdraw a bit and I scream as she lunges forward through the bars, plopping the cold circular metal in the palm of my hand.

I can only imagine her pain. Sara's body crumples back into the cell, her arm hanging limp between the bars. Faint moans and coughs escape her throat as the Black Knights open her iron door. As the door opens, her arm slips out of the bars and she falls on her side, her top half lying in the hallway.

"Sara." I rasp, my stomach churning in odd ways, tears blurring my vision as one Black Knight grabs her small frame and hoists her onto his shoulder. The other Black Knight that accompanied him turns to face me and in the dim light, I see him raise his spear!

A scream slips past my lips as the spearhead comes down on me through the bars! I'm dead, I'm dead…I must be.

Shivers run up and down my spine, my body shudders with fear as I clutch the ring in my bloody palm. My head throbs with excruciating pain as I hear the grinding of rock with the spearhead's retreat…not the grinding of flesh.

Opening my eyes, I see the Black Knight turn and follow behind his companion. Their thuds wane with each step…quieter…quieter…then the slam of the heavy wooden door…quieter and quieter…to the sound of a moth's beating wings.

Darkness. Fear. Certain death. This…is…reality. Each breath that passes my lips hangs in the air. I feel that warmth in my chest extinguished…I carefully patch the break in the wall with new ice, but I leave a small circle in it.

Taking Sara's ring in my sweaty, bloody palm, I rip a long, slender piece of fabric from my dress and slip the fabric through the ring and tie it about my neck. Carefully, I tuck the ring into my bodice and let the cold, tarnished metal seal the little circle I left in my wall.

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**Well, here's the end of the third chapter. Tell me, did I put enough detail in? Did I write enough on Sara to make her a memorable person? Should I have written more dialogue from her? If you could answer these questions in your reviews, I would appreciate it. **

**Next update is July 12, 2012, not 2013:)**


	3. Chapter 3 Beggaring Description

**Alrightie, sorry guys about the lateness of this update. It took longer than I had anticipated. Anyways, thanks to Lenalove, Opal, and MoonlightDemoness for their reviews! Also, this chapt is a bit lengthy, but I hope you find it enjoyable. Chapter 4 is the big escape. :) **

**Warning: I am descriptive with Sara's dead body and with what Finn did to her before she died. Finn is an evil, evil man. I think that what I wrote he did to her he didn't do in the movie, but I thought that this would add to his wickedness. **

**Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 3 **_**Beggaring Description**_

Days, weeks, months, even years go by, but I still remember when the Black Glass Knights brought her back. She was dead. Out of all the bones of women and children piling the cell and even the woman who crumbled to dust did not compare with the gore of her body.

I sat there with my knees close to my chest, my hands clasped about my kneecaps as I rocked myself back and forth in an attempt to wipe away the tears that silently slipped down my cheeks. Then I heard them. The distant, distinct thud of their boots.

As the thuds grew louder, so did the pounding in my head. My eardrums jumped about and tried to bust through my skull. The throbbing pain behind my eyeballs threatened to push them out of their sockets.

I wish the throbbing pain had carried out its threat.

As the sun rose, its rays poured through the small window and gave light to the two Black Glass Knights whose massive black cloaks concealed Sara in their arms. There was a small glimmer of hope in the utter darkness, but I knew she was dead…and raw. I heard a drop of liquid crash against the stone floor. When I saw the puddle of burgundy blood that lapped about their glass boots, I repeatedly wished that my eyeballs had fallen from their sockets. Never had any of the prisoners' remains been fresh with blood.

I remember the sickening feeling that formed inside my gut. I felt as if I was somehow to blame for the condition of her body, which I haven't even seen yet.

The Black Glass Knights opened the iron door, threw her body to the ground, and shut the door with so much force that I could feel the slight tremors in the floor.

As the Black Glass Knights turned and took their leave, their black cloaks swayed about their bodies and fluttered away, revealing Sara.

Her body…organs were missing, her skin…nothing! Just chunks of flesh clung to her bones. The skin was cleaved from her face, her sockets empty…no words could describe the gravity of her corpse. Horrid, grisly, hideous…gruesome, morbid! The repugnant smell of charred flesh and death burned my nostrils like a million torches. I sought to alleviate the burning pain in my nose, but when I opened my mouth and inhaled the air, I gagged on the foul, vile, loathsome taste of her rotting flesh that gathered at the back of my throat.

My insides curled and twisted about each other, my skin crawled with worms and cockroaches, and even the tears that veiled the sight of her offered no comfort as the little rat I had in my belly came up and out my mouth.

I'm not sure how violently my body convulsed afterwards, but the pain was so sharp, so severe, so agonizing – the burning of the vomit in my throat, the taste of charred and rotting flesh, the odor of death and burning coal. The physical pain was the small part. Guilt, shame, remorse, and the disgust that I had with myself…that was another part. The pain was so unbearable that I clung to the bars and screamed!

I screamed over and over, shaking the bars, slamming my head into them. Every time my blurry gaze fell upon Sara's body, I saw crimson daisies protruding from the large gash in her belly. The petals dripped of her blood. I heaved several times and I continued my screams, kicking, clawing, biting at the metal of the bars.

All around me, her blood soaked the tattered, dirty hem of my dress. Her blood ran with crimson daisy petals and soon her blood pooled about me like water, splashing against my hips and waist.

I drowned in the crimson…

As the days passed on, I slowly recovered. I realized that the daisies were a trickery of my mind, my subconscious' attempt to comfort me. Strangely enough, it did.

As the weeks passed, I became accustomed to the smell of Sara's rotting body. I was able to remove the piece of cloth that I had tied about my nose and mouth.

Some more time passed and during the course of crushing rats, collecting water, and salvaging clothes from the opposite cell, I made the effort on several occasions to burn Sara's body.

There was no success in it. I tried starting a fire in my cell and tossing the flame through the bars and onto her, but instead I had set my sleeves ablaze! Luckily my chamberpot was full of water. I dunked my arms into the pot, allowing the water to extinguish the fire. When I pulled my sizzling arms out of the water, I had to push them back into the pot to relieve the pain.

As my blistered arms began to heal, I took the two rocks on more than one occasion and stuck them between the bars, stretching my arms as far as I could. Then I repeatedly struck them together until sparks jumped from them. During the whole time, I hoped that one of the jumping sparks would somehow miraculously jump onto Sara's body, but the sparks went no more than a foot.

So, I spent several years in pure solitude. No Black Glass Guards, no women, no Finn, just rats. During those solitary years, I sometimes spent hours sitting at the bars, watching the rats slowly eat Sara's flesh to maintain my sanity. Every time I feel my mind slipping, I go, sit and watch the rats make a feast of the dead woman. They were living, breathing animations that I could look upon. They reminded me that my flesh was still very much alive.

Today is one of those days.

I sit here, watching one fat black rat pick at the little flesh left on her bottom jaw. Wait…the rat eats her, I eat the rat…so in essence, I am eating…

My stomach cringes at the sickening thought, so I quickly push it aside to keep the rat meat I had eaten earlier this morning in my belly.

The rat that is feasting on her lower jaw nibbles the last bit of flesh off and licks the discolored bone clean. He then sits back on his haunches and begins grooming himself, licking his hands and running his spit through his fur.

"After dinner bath, eh?" I ask the rat. His ears twitch to the sound of my voice, but he presumes his grooming as if I said nothing.

"Yes, ignore me. Playing the hard of hearing card, am I right?" The rat goes on, moving from his head to licking his soft underbelly. With each lingering lick of his tongue, with each slight ripple of his full belly, drool starts to run down the sides of my agape mouth. My stomach has eyes, too, because my stomach whispers to me its hunger.

"You look mighty tasty…especially your belly. The slight ripples tell me you have some fat on your little body to…spare." A nice fat, juicy…and preemptively stuffed rat.

"I remember back in the good old days when I would get a whole stuffed turkey at the snap of my fingers. I must say, my favorite part of the stuffed turkey was the stuffing. Hmm, I could never get enough of that! When I was in my fifth year, I grew three times my size because of the excessive amounts of stuffing I ate! Of course, my mother said 'Snow, if you don't start eating your fruits and vegetables, I may have to make a stuffed turkey out of you.' Now you, my dear, dear friend, I can make a stuffed turkey out of. I wonder how your stuffing tastes…" I trail off. Am I saying these things?

I'm speaking of human flesh!

Have I gone ill of mind? Have I truly?

All this time, when I sat at the bars and watched the rats eat Sara, I told myself this was a smart way not to cross that line that separated sanity and insanity. I've…I've been tricked! By myself! My own ludicrous subconscious tricked me! I'm insane! I've lost my mind! And what have I to show for the internal battle that I fought so hard for my sanity? Nothing! Nay, worst than nothing!

Here's what I have to show! An extinguished hope! Hate for my father! Shame for me! Disgust for me! Sara's corpse can't compare to my wretchedness! Hell! Even Satan couldn't compare to my dejection! Perhaps a time ago both of them would have appeared worse off than me, but now? And worst of all, an ice wall barricading an even icier heart!

My mother said this before she died. "Snow, just as your father's bane is pride, so is yours. But along with this resides a rare beauty which I have given you. Your heart. I have planted it and nurtured it into the blooming flower you are now. Don't ever lose it. Don't ever lose the immense love that you possess."

"Well, mother?" I cry out, throwing my head back and extending my arms out in thrashing anger. Anger pulses throughout me with each heart beat as I cry "What do you think now? What do you think of this damnable heart that you have given me? Look what it has led me too!"

Dropping my head, tears start to run down my cheeks as I take in my sullied appearance. The skirt of my yellowed white dress is stained with dried blood from my last two monthly bleeds. I hadn't bothered to change my dress because what can a little blood do to me, right? I drag my leg out from under me and pull off my boot, peering at the scars of the rat bites on my ankle.

"Look!" I cry out in hopes that somehow my mother will hear me. Through gritted teeth I spit out in fiery anger "Oh, how you should grovel at my feet for forgiveness, mother!"

With little effort, I fall to my side and lay my scarred forearms out before me. "Look what you've done." I mutter. "Look what I've done." More tears come and fall and I welcome them with parted lips, letting the salty taste punish me further. I deserve it. Look what I've done!

I've just degraded my mother, the only person who showed me any genuine love, to a sworn adversary! I've just wasted the one gift she gave me…love.

My blurry world slowly dims with the setting of the sun…

The soft, tender beating of my heart cradles all the pain in my ribs, not allowing me the slightest peace. Blackness envelopes me and caresses my mind with all of my sins and guilt.

If there is any way to break free from Blackness' embrace, I would have done it already, but the fact that it is so familiar, so much a part of me, I'm a bit afraid to break away. The beating of my heart grows louder in my ears and I feel Blackness withdraw its arms from me.

Not wanting it to leave, I roll onto my back in an attempt to draw it close again, but it leaves. My heart starts to race as I hear distant screams. Are they mine? Am I screaming for Blackness to embrace me again?

My eyes shoot open, the sunlight blinding me.

The thuds of those cursed glass boots draw closer and grow louder with each heartbeat! Those weren't my screams. They were another human being's!

The wooden door slams. Out of excitement of being able to see another human, out of anger for what is sure to happen to her, and out of fear that I'm next I jump to my feet, one booted and one bare, and rush to the bars. Grasping the bars, I lean my face against them and peer down the dim hall to see three figures make their way towards me.

Each has two legs, two arms, and a head resembling that of a human. I half expected there to be two rounded ears protruding from their hair, but no. Thank the heavens! The figure in the middle screams and kicks in a fruitless effort to escape, while the two outer figures dragging her are undoubtedly Black Glass Knights.

Panic begins to settle in my gut as one Black Knight pulls the cell keys from his belt and unlocks the door. Here I am again, reliving the horrid process of the turning of young, beautiful women into sacs of bones.

The woman screams as the Black Knights push her into the cell and atop Sara's decaying body! Rats that had nestled inside Sara's ribs run out of her, frightened at the sudden disturbance. How dare they defile Sara like that? The blood in my veins boils with uncontrollable anger.

Something hits me. All these years spent in solitude since Sara's death has slowly hoarded all the anger, burying it beneath the ice wall about my heart.

Seeing the Black Glass Knights lock the cell door, showing no remorse over what they had just done, makes the greedy fingers my father has given me to reach into the stockpile of anger. I don't care what happens to me! They can cut me, kill me, grind me, carve out my innards, consume my heart, damn, they can even suck the life out of me! I do not care!

Harnessing the anger, I scream and thrash out at them as they turn to leave. I curse them as I grab a hold of one of their cloaks. The Black Knight that I have a hold of pays no regard to me as he continues on down the hall with his companion, his black cloak slipping through my shocked, loose fingers.

I was so certain that this act would have been my end. My arm hanging in the air, I watch their retreating forms as they turn the corner and open the heavy wood door, slamming it with their departure. How? Why? Do they not feel anything? Do they have no minds? The thuds of their glass boots are but the faintest echo in the hall.

Are they even real men?

Whimpering lures my wide eyes to the cell opposite me. The woman they had thrown the cell had rolled off Sara and onto her back, her arms wrapped about her chest as she rolls back and forth. Tears stream down her dirty cheeks. She chokes and coughs on her tears.

For the longest time, I gawk at her, seeing her moving, breathing…living. She's very much alive, perhaps a bit more alive than me. Is she even real…or is this my ill mind playing tricks on me again? The sunlight begins to fade as I continue to watch her roll around, her orange locks intertwining with dirt and little rocks on the stone floor.

My lips quiver, my teeth clack, and my tongue aches to utter a word. A single word! Just one! That's it! Just one word and that could perhaps be my meal for the night…

"H-h-h…" I rasp and cough as I try to form the word. I haven't spoken for so long that I forget how to speak! Forming the word in my ravaged mind is half the battle. Shaping the word on my tongue is the other.

Clearing my throat, I attempt the word again.

"He-hell…" The 'o' lodges in my throat, inviting a bout of coughing to consume my body. Shadows slowly advance down the hall as the coughing subsides with the retreat of the sun. If I could just form this one word, my troubles would be over!

Clearing my throat twice, I gulp a large breath of rotting air and throw all my eggs in the only basket there is.

"Hello?" I manage. The woman says nothing nor gives a glance, but she falls quiet.

"Hello? What's your name?" I restart the process all over again. Even though I'm quite rusty on the comfort routine, I force myself to stick with it.

The woman lifts her shaking head and rises to her unbalanced feet.

"Greta." She says, gazing at me through the bars.

"Greta…a-a beautiful name."

"Thank you." Greta says, bowing her head low as she stumbles to the bars of her cell door. Falling to her knees, she clangs to the bars as she begins to sob again. I lower myself to my knees and keep my eyes fixed on her as I say "You'll be alright, Greta. Don't worry. You'll be alright..." I add "in the end."

"Really?" She asks in a hopeful tone, lifting her eyes to mine. I stop for a second, but nod and force a warming smile on my lips. It's strange, forcing my lips upwards. A foreign feeling, indeed.

"How were you captured?" I ask eager to fill my mouth with all the human voice I can get, even if the exchange of words is rather bleak.

"I was trying to reach Duke Hammond's castle after all the girls were taken from my village under the cover of a caravan. That didn't last long as you can see." Duke Hammond? He's alive? William? If Duke Hammond is alive, then perhaps William is too and all those who escaped with him that night!

"Duke Hammond? He's alive? He still fights under my father's name?" I ask with excitement, the warm, fuzzy feeling spreading throughout my chest.

Greta eyes widened as she stares my body from head to toe. "You're…you're…an heir lives? King Magnus' blood truly runs through your veins?" I realize what I just let slip out of my mouth. No matter. What harm does her knowing my identity do me?

I quickly nod ask "And what of his son? What of William?" I squat on the balls of my feet, keen on hearing her answer.

"I don't know, princess." Greta shrugs her shoulders and lowers her gaze with regret. Sorrow sweeps through me as my gaze drifts to the floor. Silently, I utter a prayer begging for William to be alive, happy, and well. Hopefully, if God sees it fit, William is alive and living his life as the Duke's son should, fulfilling every duty he is obligated too.

"Your Highness?" Greta asks. I haven't been addressed with that title for years.

"Yes?" I lift my eyes to hers.

"What…what will they do to me?" Greta daringly casts a glance at Sara's body and to the piles of skulls and bones behind her.

"I…" What do I say? I don't want to undo the little comfort I managed to give her…did I even comfort her?

An uneasy silence falls between us. I can sense Greta's anxiety and fear of what's surely to become of her as she rocks back and forth on her wobbly kneecaps.

I wish she would say something! Break the silence that reminds me of the other silent years I somehow managed to survive. As if she reads my mind, she says with a shaky voice "It's alright. It-it's probably best I don't know…" A single laugh escapes her throat. "I don't want to know."

I just look at her through my bars and her bars, watching her disconsolate eyes twitch back and forth, often casting side glances to Sara.

"Hey, look at me, not her." Wrapping my hands about the bars, I pull my dead weight off my heels and push my face against them. Greta looks to me, but her attention is quickly drawn to a rat that is crawling across her lap. She begins to scream, but I cut her short.

"Hey! Shhh! Just look at me! Don't look at them!" Greta trains her fearful eyes on me like a trained dog, waiting for any further commands.

"Just keep looking at me, alright?" She shakily nods. As the sun wanes and the darkness engulfs Greta and me, I say "You're doing great, Greta. Keep your eyes on me."

Just then, my ears cringe to the thuds. They're coming for her! I'm going to be alone, again! This maybe the last time I see a human! Greta's eyes jump down the hall when the heavy wooden door slams. Squinting in the darkness, I make out three figures in the shadow. The two on the outside are unquestionably Black Glass Knights, but the figure in the middle is not one of them…although the shape of his head is familiar.

Greta cries out, reminding me of the only few seconds I have left to relish in her company. I divert my attention back to her as I plead with her "Greta, keep looking at me! Don't look at them, just me! Greta!" She keeps her gaze on me, but I see in her eyes that her little undying hope has gone out of her.

The man in the middle stops in front of my cell bars with his back to me whilst the Black Glass Knights unlock the cell.

"Greta, don't look at them!" I shout. "Don't you dare look at them!"

"I'm not and I won't!" Greta's voice rings out over the Black Glass Knights who heave her reluctant body out of the cell and drag her away.

The man who stands in front of my bars approaches the open door, closes and locks it, pulling the keys out.

"I heard about your little tantrum earlier." It's Finn, the white haired fool. In the darkness, I see his shadow turn round to face me. He kneels to my height and leans in close to my face. So close that I feel his hot breath coat my face in a layer of sweat. My instincts tempt me to cower away from the man who always looks at me with lust, but I ignore them and hold my ground. I even take the extra step and push my face further through the bars.

"Try not to have another outburst, alright?"

"You can't tell me what to do." I spit out the words like venom. My father also had a gambling problem, but never did he gamble with his life like me.

Finn laughs as he gets to his feet and departs.

The night carries on and I don't leave the bars. I am going to stay here and gamble some more when they bring Greta's body back.

Why am I not dead yet? When will the Queen dig into her 'reserve'? Will it be now, soon, later, or never?

The faint thuds echo down the hall, ending my questions short. With each thud, I feel the cold air prick at my bare back. My dress must be ripping faster than I originally thought. Despite the fact, I ready my hands for rolling the die.

The slam of the wooden door and the approach of three…no four figures. It must be Finn, the two Black Glass Knights, and Greta's dead body. Quiet sobs fill the hall, tickling my eardrums. What the…Who's crying?

The four stop in front of the cell opposite me and unlock the cell door, throw Greta's body in, and lock it behind her. They turn and leave while the weeping persists in the cell across from me. Is…is she still alive?

"Greta?" I call out.

"Princess?" I hear her say through constant sobs.

"You're alive?" I feel the thrill of her continuing life, but it's cut short when Finn speaks up.

"Yes, she's alive. But the same cannot be said for poor, poor Sara." He is intentionally trying to get me where it really hurts. He must be well aware of the fact that Sara's corpse was the final push that I needed to become insane.

He takes a step closer to the bars and peers down at her body, shaking his head.

"It's a shame, too. Such a strong, beautiful, and vibrant woman, on the feisty side…how I like my women. You know, if she hadn't fought me while I pushed her down upon my bed, maybe I would have gone easy on her. Her being a woman and all, I overpowered her easily. Perhaps…perhaps if she had something to eat before…she could've escaped my clutches."

Anger. I grit my teeth together, my heart pumping blood to my limbs faster than I could count.

"Snow, I think you and I know who denied her food." Finn turns and approaches me, kneeling to my height. "I thought her a dull woman at first, but I was proven wrong when I had my way with her."

I imagine myself tying Finn to the bars of the cell and carving his organs out! All the screams and cries of pain I could coax from him would be unceasing. Oh, how I yearn to tie his four limbs to four horses and have the horses take off in four different directions! Oh, how I crave to throw him in a sarcophagus filled with flesh eating bugs and lock him up with them!

No, no. None of these will justify his abominable crimes! One thing would, though…if I took the dagger that pierced my father's heart and carved out Finn's beating heart with it! There! That would be justice's verdict. And it would be my utmost pleasure to be the one to do it.

"You're so beautiful." Finn says, reaching between the bars and rubbing his thumb along my cheek. "Such soft cheeks. All the women I took advantage of cannot compare to Sara…you're so much like her…I can only imagine how you would be."

Before I can claw his face, his hand snakes about my nape and he crashes my face against the bars! I gasp from the instant pain as Finn's lips crash into mine! I'm taken aback for a split second and hang motionless, my head sandwiched between the bars and Finn's hand. But I absorb the shock of what's happening right now and fight to get away from him.

His free hand grasps my bare shoulder, further holding me firm as he smooches away. I scream into the kiss, feeling my tattered dress fall from my shoulders and pool at my waist! This encourages him and he presses his bottom lip between my teeth…wrong move on his part.

With all the strength in my jaw, I bite into his flesh. He screams into my mouth and as soon as I taste the metallic tinge of his blood on my tongue, I release him. He falls back on his rump, both of his hands flying over his mouth as he curses me.

"Damn you!" He shouts through his blood and hands. His blood fresh in my mouth, I spit it out repeatedly.

"Damn you, woman!" As he continues his curses, I roll the die, shouting "I'll have your beating heart!"

Finn falls motionless. He stares back at me, lowering his hands to his sides. A moment of silence comes between us as he takes in my appearance. I see a smirk form on his bloody, torn lips. Rising to his feet, he says "You'll wish you never have said that."

Finn then turns and storms off, leaving me half bare with sore lips and cheeks and the company of a weeping Greta. Upon hearing the slam of the wood door, I try to sort this whole mess out…Well, what is there to sort out?

Finn just promised me my certain death through the bars! I…I have to get out of here…I have to get out of this cell.

"Greta?" I grab my dress and pull it back up my torso as she rouses from her weeping.

"Yes?" She chokes out, sitting up and turning her gaze to me.

"I'm going to find a way out of here…for both of us. I promise."

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**The end of an extremely long chapt! I promise u, they will not be this long in the future. As I was writing this, I kept thinking poor, poor Snow! Poor, poor Sara! And poor Greta! And sadly enough, poor Eric...and he hasn't even made his entrance yet! Let me know if you thought this throughout the chapter! Thanks again! **

**I will be camping this weekend, so the next update will be this coming Thursday, July 19! Til next time! :D**


	4. Chapter 4 Escape in Water

**Sorry! Soooorrrrrryyyyy! I've been so busy lately! I just want to thank u readers for ur colossal patience with Svidi! I hope this chapt was worth the wait! I just want to thank all those who reviewed!**

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**Chapter 4 **_**Escape in Water**_

My plan for escape…nothing. But so is my time to plan.

When Finn leaves, I take the opportunity to clothe myself. Yes, I may be an animal, but I still have some of my humanity.

With my hook contraption, I gather a large animal hide and a thin blue dress from the opposite cell. Using a sharpened toe bone for a needle and a jagged rock for cutting, I take the animal hide, measure myself, and quickly stitch together some crude pants, a wineskin, and a pouch with a long strap to go about my shoulder and chest. Thank the Heavens for the past experience I've gained by stitching together apparel.

I pull the hide pants on and try them for size. Not bad. I flex my legs. A bit on the heavy side, but they're flexible and they fit.

Turning my attention to the blue dress, I strip of the white rags and slip it over my head. To my undying luck, it's loose and a bit short, the hem coming down to mid calf which makes running an easier task. I grab the pouch and canteen.

I stand here, clothed in fresh clothes, a canteen in hand and my pouch strap across my chest.

A heavy sensation steadily settles on my shoulders. Ruined and defiled I am! My cheeks sting and my lips ache. With my free hand, I gently probe the sensitive flesh with my fingertips and feel the swollenness. Finn bashed me with such strength…

Crying out in frustration, I drop the canteen, strip of the pouch, dress, and pants and make my way to the small window, letting the harsh raindrops from outside soak me from skin to innards to skin. Each hair on my body is not spared from the torrential downpour. I let the raindrops wash away every speck of dirt that's accumulated on me from all these years.

This…this is a renewal. A renewal of my body and of my life.

Gazing down to the stone floor as the rain dies to a drizzle, I see an unkempt woman rippling in the puddle.

She's pallid and her rigid features are desolate. Her eyes hide in the shadows of her brows, appearing as two gaping holes in her oval skull. Her lips, swollen and crimson, are pitted against each other in a static battle. Her purpled cheeks, broken nose, and long, gnarled raven locks speak of her prolonged endeavors of survival. This woman's scarred, skeleton hands come up and knead each one of her ribs. I wonder if she is even a woman, considering her breasts are nonexistent. This woman…she's no different than those sacks of bones! Hell, she's one of them!

I cringe at the appalling sight of her, but the woman also cringes. What? I wave my hand and she waves in sync.

"Stop." I say, but she echoes my voice.

She's…she's me. This horrid, disgusting sac of bones is…is me. How? Dare I further examine my abysmal body?

Ah, hell! What have I got to lose?

Looking closer at the woman before me, I see a tarnished silver ring looped with blue fabric tied about her neck.

Sara's ring. She made me promise to give it back to her husband should I ever see him. Well Sara, I'll try. You gave me a brief moment of hope and this is the least I can do for you.

Feeling rejuvenated, I pull the pants, dress, and boots on my body and bring the canteen to the window, gathering as much water as I can. It being full, I tie it shut and drop it into my pouch.

I stop…something's about to happen. I feel it in my gut.

Faint footsteps echo down the hall. Finn's coming!

I hastily push the ring into my dress, throw the pouch beneath the bed, and yank the curved nail from the contraption and start to straighten it. As the footsteps grow closer and the wood door slams, I muster all the strength in my arms, but fail to straighten the nail!

"Come on." I plead through clenched teeth. My stomach ties up with each step Finn takes! Closer and closer he comes!

Forget it!

I grab the last few leather pieces to hide anything suspicious and throw them in my pouch.

The jingling of keys! Finn appears in the corner of my left eye and just as he lifts his gaze, I turn to face him and hide the curved nail behind my back, trying my best to calm my rapid breathing!

He came so suddenly! My heart is beating like the beat of a wasp's wings!

"You look flustered. Did I startle you, Snow?" Finn pulls the keys from his belt and fingers each one, keeping his lustful eyes upon me.

"N-no." I stutter. Damn! What difficulty it is to keep a level tone! The intensity of his ravenous eyes weighs on my head and shoulders, burdening my knees to uphold my frame. His smile grows wider as he puts the key into the lock and twists it. My heart paces as he pushes the bars open, the hinges creaking.

He steps into my cell and says "The Queen has requested your presence."

"Is that so?" I ask, fighting to keep my spinning head level. He pulls the keys from the lock and closes the door behind him. Fear becomes more prominent.

"My," He looks me up and down. The hunger in his eyes grow. "did you dress just for me?"

I go to say no, but the words catch in my throat as he draws closer with each step.

"What does the Queen want?" I ask in a collective tone, attempting to steer him back onto the Queen's demands and away from his own immoral desires.

"On the bed." He says quickly, his hand going to the cream leathered hilt of his knife. I don't move for a part of me is frozen with defiance and the other part is frozen with fear.

"Now!" He screams any of my meager defiance away. My heart hammers my ribs as my knees become too feeble. I stumble back and fall upon my bed.

"Lie down." I readily comply against my wishes, lifting my heavy legs onto the bed and lying on my back, my nail tucked away beneath me.

Finn approaches me, sits on the edge of my bed, and runs his chilly fingertips along my collarbone. My heart clobbers my ribs and I shiver to his touch. The nail in my clenched hand tempts me, shouting "Do it! Do it now!". I go to do it, but my arm hesitates to carry my hand.

"What does she want of me?" I ask, my heart begging for freedom from my body. I suddenly take notice of his lower lip that I bit earlier…healed. Completely healed.

"From you." Finn corrects. His icy fingers trail down my chest and come to rest atop…my heart.

"To…consume your beating heart!" He screams! In a flash, I drive the nail through his cheek! Blood gushes everywhere as his screams fill the hall, alerting every Black Glass Knight within the Kingdom of Tabor of my strike!

I waste no time. Pushing him out of the way, I grab his knife, keys, and pouch and sprint for the door! Opening the bars, I bound to the opposite side. Out in the hall...I have spent countless years wishing to step foot in it.

I would love to stay and relish in the new freedom, but I can't! Fumbling with the keys while holding the knife, my fingers quake!

"Guards!" Finn screams! I try the first key, pushing it into the keyhole. Doesn't work. Alright, perhaps the second. I push the second into the keyhole and that doesn't work either! The knife only cumbers me, so I drop the knife and begin fumbling with the third key.

Finn slowly rises from my bed, turning on his heels to reveal the damage I had done to him. The nail is pierced through from cheek to cheek. He tries to pull it out, but a bloodcurdling scream flows past his lips.

I hear the thuds of the Black Glass Knights' boots, far off but fast approaching! I jam the fourth key into the lock. I turn it and my stomach swirls with thrill. It works!

A sharp tug to my head pulls me between the bars, sending a sudden shock through my neck and arms! The keys slip my hands!

Dazed and disoriented, I know I have to free Greta and myself and get out, but what has a hold of me?

"Don' thi-in you're goin' any-were." Finn gurgles past his blood as he slacks in his grip and pulls my head back into the bars by my hair! The pain! The glass boots grow louder! I hear the creaking of the wood door's hinges!

I have to do something! Anything!

Finn's knife.

I slip down, pick up the knife and bring it onto Finn's wrist! I saw away, ignoring his blood and cries. He instantly releases my hair and I stumble back into Greta's bars, gasping to catch my breath.

Greta's sobs grow louder. The promise I made her! Despite Finn's unremitting, agonizing screams, the dangerous proximity of the Black Glass Knights, and my stinging head, I pick up the keys, spin on my heels, and push a random key into the lock.

"What are you doing?" Greta rasps. Looking up, I see her face…her youth is gone. Aged and withered, iron grey hair flecked with white.

"Get out of here." She pleads with a voice not hers. It's too raspy. Key doesn't work! Next!

"Just let me find the right key!" I hear the thuds come to an abrupt stop and then an ear-splitting shriek bounces off the stone walls and into my ears, rattling my vulnerable eardrums. Casting my gaze down the hall, I see two Black Glass Knights!

"Get her! Cut out her heart!" Finn cries.

The Black Knights move. So much agility and grace they possess. I stop moving from awe…awe and fear.

"Go! Leave me! Go!" Greta's frail hands push me away from her and down the hall. I stop and turn back to her. I can't leave her!

"Go!" She shouts. If I don't leave now, how can I be alive to get her out?

Reluctantly, I turn and as I leave I yell "I promise, Greta! I will come back for you!"

I go left, just barely dodging a Glass hand that swipes at my head! My mind is short with thoughts as my heart pounds against my ribs, begging, pleading, groveling at my knees to be free! But I tell my heart that its home is in my chest, not the Queen's belly!

I turn aimlessly down another dark passage with the Black Glass Knights on my heels! My legs are light like a bird's feather despite the heavy leather of the pants. I amaze myself with the agility I have. I never knew that my scrawny legs could carry an even scrawnier torso so well. Breaths inflate and deflate my lungs with such smoothness that I feel I can carry on down this hall long enough to go round half the earth. Definitely out of Tabor. Haha! I like that.

A smile grows on my mouth as a chuckle escapes my throat.

Black Glass Knights appear at the end of the hall, blocking my way! My smile quickly disappears as I skid to a halt and I look to my left and right! Nothing to the left, but there's another passage to the right. Should I take it? My heart shouts "Forget that, just go!" I duck into the hall and take off down it, hearing the thuds of their glass boots close behind! I turn down several more halls, scale down quite some flights of stairs and during the chase, another group of two Black Glass Knights joins in, amounting to six of them chasing me!

The sheer number of them!

My knees become wobblier with each step and the advancing fear of collapsing hangs in the musty air about me! It's going to happen! I turn down another corridor and drop the keys. I'm going to fall! And they'll kill me! I turn left and I'm saluted with a dead end! My thumping heart falls into my stomach. It's over.

The eerie, yet sweetly familiar sound of a bird whistling scratches my ears. Lazily turning my gaze towards the direction, I am blinded by the light that pours through a window. It's larger than the one in my cell…perhaps…perhaps large enough for me to fit through!

Wrapping the blade in some leather to prevent it from ripping anything, I store it in my pouch, scale the crevices in the bricks with little effort and start to slide through the window.

Only halfway through, a burst of foreign air rushes up my nostrils and into my lungs! It burns so bad that I lose my grip, fall out the window and in the mud!

Oh no. How long was the drop? Bones are piercing my skin!

Looking down at my body, relief soars throughout all my muscles.

I'm alright. My rump is sore, but not much else.

The air…it's very…very fresh. I must have been so accustomed to the smell of rotting flesh that the fresh air seemed toxic. No matter. The fresher the air, the better.

Rising to my feet is difficult and I slip several times in the mud, but by the third or fourth time, I gain the sense to grip the stone and drag my sore and aching body to my feet.

I slide along the wall, trying to stick to the shadows. I hear nothing but a calm bustle of activity a little ways off.

If I can somehow get outside the Castle Walls without being noticed, then I'm alright.

Creeping round a corner, I come to a barred door!

"Damn." I curse quietly. I start to turn and go back to find another way, but how do I know the door is locked? Looking over my shoulder, I accept the challenge and turn back round. Placing my hands on the bars, I push forward. I fall through the door, hanging onto the bars for support as I ram into the brick wall! I halt as my stomach recoils and listen…nothing. No glass thuds, no animal-like shrieks, no Finn dealing out commands, nothing.

The fear lightening, I pull myself to my feet and close the door quietly.

Continuing along the wall, I stick to the shadows and stop when I see what I haven't seen in a long time.

People. Tons and tons of people moving about the Courtyard, doing whatever Queen Ravenna told them to do, probably. I can just run and embrace one of them right now, but I keep my body against the stone. That would be the dimmest move I can make.

A crack of thunder rumbles in the sky. Lifting my eyes, I see a heavy raincloud advancing, covering the duller grey of the sky bit by bit. Hopefully it doesn't rain for too long. It's harder to run on a slick ground.

This brings my wandering mind back on track. I have to get out of here! I'm sure the Black Glass Knights are close!

Creeping further along the wall, I come to stop where the wall ends. If only I could see around the corner without being noticed.

Boldly, I peer round the stone and survey my surroundings. From left to right, people walk about, some entering and some leaving through the front gate. As my eyes drift, I take notice of an opening in the thick, grey stone wall. The sewer.

One time, William and I were playing near there. We were dancing and when I had my back to him, I accidentally bumped him, sending his small body down the sewer. My mother was not happy with me in the slightest. William came out smelling like sewage, but at least he wasn't hurt. However, his own mother dunked him in so many tomato and vinegar baths that he smelled like such for a year.

My eyes move more right to see the grand, grey stone stairs leading to the lofty double wood doors concealing the throne room. Two Black Glass Knights standing on either side of the wood doors with their black spears in hand makes my heart sink in dismay.

How? How am I suppose to get out the main gate with the Guards standing right there? They'll recognize me for sure!

Well…maybe not. How do they know what I look like?

Looking out to the crowd, I see how all of them keep their eyes to the ground. If it's out of feigned respect or genuine fear for Queen Ravenna and her Black Glass Knights, I do not know, but if I follow suit, I may be able to pull it off.

I step out from the shadows and veer off to the far left of the expansive Courtyard, weaving through the crowd and keeping my head bowed low so as to not raise the alarm. My stomach twists about itself and my limbs quake with anxiety. I utter a multitude of prayers, begging God that I may go unnoticed.

On unsteady feet, I pass a snow haired, bearded man pulling a tawny colored mule along. Stretched across the mule's back is a man seemingly asleep. What catches my eye is the blanket atop the sleeping man.

The blanket would be perfect. I could just wrap it about myself, shield my face and slip out without a trace!

Excitement bubbles and encases my body as I reach out and pull the blanket off the man.

"Hey!" Jumping out of my skin, I lift my head to see the white haired man that was pulling the mule had stopped and was facing me, anger as clear as water claiming his features.

"Thief!" He accuses!

"Guards! Guards!" Turning back round, the Black Glass Knights make their way down the steps and just as they do, the heavy double doors open slightly and Finn's bleeding face emerges from the shadow. Another figure starts to materialize from the darkness.

Ravenna. Her beauty has not faded a minute. Atop her intricate sun-kissed locks rests her jagged ebony crown encrusted with blood-red jewels. Her flawless form is adorned in a bronze gown that glimmers despite the withholding sun. On her unblemished face plays a sad smile as the double doors open further, more Black Glass Knights piling into the Courtyard!

Wasting no more time, I turn and sprint for the front gate, dropping the blanket enroute!

"Archers!" Ravenna shouts. Just then, something whizzes past my ear and pierces the mud before me! Spots of mud fly up upon the object's collision and land in my right eye, blinding me! I try to stop because I can't see, but I lose my footing on the slick ground and fall! No!

I look to the front gate with my one good eye and see more Black Glass Knights flooding through, pushing innocent people out of the way. Screams fill the Courtyard. Young and old men run about, gathering their elderly female companions and getting them to safety…Well, if they can get to safety, why can't I?

I scramble to my feet using all fours and start running away from the Black Glass Knights…straight towards the wall! Well, this is it! Queen Ravenna, Finn, and the Black Glass Knights have me cornered! I scan the wall with my one good eye and I see the sewer. Maybe…

I run with my hand over my right eye as the rain picks up, pelting my aching face and body.

Arrows fly about me, some of the heads grazing my arms and sides! Despite the pain and the fresh blood I feel pouring out of the slices, I use the muddy ground to my advantage. I line up with the sewer, jump in the air, and land on my rump, sliding through it.

There's a sudden drop and I fall into deep water. Sewage fills my nostrils and lungs! My mouth and eyes burn as I drown in the filthy water. So is this my end? To die in the waste of other people? My father deserves this death, being the ruler he was, but not me! I have done nothing wrong! Nothing!

My head emerges from the water, allowing fresh air into my nose and mouth! Thank the Heavens! Perhaps it's not over, yet.

Coughing up the vile sewage, I stagger towards the light and come to the end of the sewer. The sewage streams out down the rock face and into the violent ocean below. My way out. At last!

I go to jump, but stop. I can't swim! How do I expect to live? The ocean is not even calm!

I stare down at the ocean with my left eye, watching each furious wave take out its anger on the rocks. Well, if I drown, I drown. At least all my innards will stay intact.

I go to jump again, but my feet refuse to move. Damn it! Move!

A splash sounds from behind me. I can…I can sense the figure advancing upon me!

I jump. Down, down, down!

I hit the water with a sudden, prickling slap.

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**The terrible, terrible cliffhanger! HAHAHAHA! Anyways, did u feel as if u were Snow, taking the events as she was right in the moment? Let me know and I know that me chewing over these words was worthwhile! This was a very difficult chapt. to write…and I did lie about the next update. Been super busy. As penance, the next chapt. is coming out tonite, July 23! And who knows…perhaps chapt. 6 a.k.a Huntsman's big entrance will be July 24! Start gettin' hyped for him!**


	5. Chapter 5 Escape on Land

**Here u all go! The next chapt. as promised! I didn't forget it! Please, enjoy! And thanks to those who read, reviewed, and favorited this story!**

******With no further ado, read on.**

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**Chapter 5 **_**Escape on Land**_

The ocean's waters rush about me, my body racing upon her currents. I dare not open my eyes, for fear that I am in her depths. Has death finally come for me? After all its illusions back in the cell, it finally comes to this?

Blackness envelopes me in its arms, bidding me to sleep. Thief, they say. Guards they call upon me. At least all my innards are intact. At least I am in one piece. At least my heart is still beating inside my chest.

Wait…my heart…Seagulls' cries carry out in the sky. A light floods my eyes. Air flows boundless to and fro my lungs. Dare I open my eyes? Dare I see the Black Glass Knights' hands reaching out for me? Dare I see Finn's bleeding face mere inches from mine? Dare I see Ravenna's dagger poised above my heart? Dare I…dare I see the bright blue sky, the shining sun, or the pitch black, the glowing moon and twinkling stars? Dare I? Dare I take such a feat?

Opening my eyes, I blink them several times to rid them of their surprising dryness. Is it me…or can I see out of both my eyes? Maybe it's just me…maybe not. What do I see? I see…I see the faint shadows of birds flying overhead. I see the damp, heavy clouds hanging rather close to me. This much I see…dare I see more?

Lifting my head, I see the ocean, its waves crashing against the rocky shoreline. I scan the rock-strewn shore I have apparently washed up on and just above the low point of the receding cliff, I see a black horse clad in armor and its back absent of a rider…one of the Black Glass Knights' horses.

Ring…Sara…her ring! Did I lose it in the ocean? Fear wells up my throat as I feel my chest for it!

I find it still wrapped about my neck, the tarnished silver resting atop the dirty sand. Relief flows throughout my tense body as I brush the bits of sand off and push it into my dress.

Lifting my gaze back to the horse, I watch it for a moment.

The animal lowers it massive head to the ground, grazing on whatever sparse vegetation maybe residing upon the cliff. No rider comes to it. Perhaps the animal was forgotten. However unlikely this sounds, perhaps the horse is just waiting for one of the Black Glass Knights to hop up on his back. What if…what if I hopped up on his back?

Is the horse made of glass as well, or is he a real, breathing animal? There's only one way to find out…

I scale the cliff, almost falling back down several times, but to my uncanny luck, I catch myself and resume the climb.

Just as I reach the cliff's edge, I grasp the ledge and cautiously peer past it.

Black Glass Knights walk about the large path, peering behind rocks and dead tree trunks. They must be searching for me.

A Black Glass Knight turns and makes his way towards the cliff's edge! My fingers tighten and slip from the rock, almost causing me to fall down! Almost.

Carefully, I retreat a bit down the cliff and pull myself into a small crevice.

I hope I'm hidden. A shriek fills the air, piercing my ears with so much pain!

I go to cover them, but I start to lean forward! Desperately groping the rocks, my foot slips, small rocks falling and clanging against the rock face! They hit the sand far below me and I freeze, hearing the Black Glass Knight's steps trail along the ledge and stop just above my head.

I hear my own heartbeat in my ears. What if he does too? The Black Glass Knight sniffs the air, barks, and falls silent.

I dare not breathe, lest he hear me! Perhaps he hears my heart, perhaps not.

For what seems eternity, I remain motionless, my breath sealed in me. My lungs begin to burn. If only he would leave!

I hear the retreat of glass boots. God must have heard me.

A silent sigh of immense, immense relief flows past my lips. I have just come so close to being caught…once again.

Now, to get the horse and get out. Is the horse still there?

Turning round and climbing back up the cliff, I see the horse. His back to me, he lowers his head and consumes the bare twigs on the rocky ground. I…I have never seen a horse consume bare twigs. There must be something green about for him to eat. Scanning the path littered with Black Glass Knights, I see everything is void of life. Ravenna's rule must have done this to the land.

I know I should feel sorrow and sadness towards Tabor and her people, but a part of me could care less. I want to care. I desire to care, but I don't. Fear grips my heart. Why don't I care? Please care, Snow! Please care!

The horse nickers, drawing my attention back to him. Looking about, the Black Glass Knights retreat further up the path, calling their horses and mounting the animals.

Despite the little opportunity, I readjust my grip on the ledge and pull my weight up with straining muscles. Heaving both of my legs onto the ledge, I quickly jump to my feet and turn to face the horse.

I try to recall my younger years when William and I rode ponies along the shore. Feet go in stirrups, rump goes in saddle, and hands go on reins. Right?

Animal shrieks pierce my ears once again! I can't help the cry of pain that escapes my lips as my hands fly to my ears! They see me! I can't stay here!

Removing my hands, I slip my foot into the stirrup, hoist my rump into the saddle and swing my other leg over the horse's back and shove my foot into the other stirrup! I kick the horse's middle and it takes off down the trail! I nearly fall of, but regain my balance as I guide the horse.

With each stride the horse takes, I struggle to stay on the beast!

I hear pounds of horses' hooves! Glancing over my shoulder, eight Black Glass Knights upon armored horses pursue me! I writhe at the sight of them!

Despite the dangerous immediacy of the Black Glass Knights, I can't help but stare at the world about me.

Tree trunks brittle and dry, the sky a brilliant collage of dark and dull grays, and the raindrops pelting my skin feel as if they are…are dry. Is it just me, or is the rain actually void of moisture? I pray it's me, but I can't scratch the itch that it's really as it seems.

As I pound the horse's flanks harder, myriad dead trees, some uprooted, some broken, fly by like endless prison bars lining the broad slick road.

Up ahead, a cluster of small dots appear amongst the bleak canvas of dead and broken trees.

With each stride the horse takes, the bouncing dots grow larger and become more distinguishable. Straw roofs, rosy bricks chaotically piled atop more rosy bricks to serve as walls for minuscule shelters, which appear no more than ant mounds made of bricks. The shelters themselves are arranged in no particular fashion. Small merchant stalls are set up between them, some right in front of the doors leading to the shelters' insides. Little ants wander about the rosy brick mounds, plowing fields and flocking from merchant stall to merchant stall.

Upon entering this small village, I see that the black ants aren't ants, but they are people. I pull back on the horse's reins, easing him to a trot for fear he might trample someone.

I realize how particularly silent it is. Where are the Black Glass Knights? Glancing past my shoulder, I see them nowhere in sight. I must have lost them. Good. And these ant mounds should provide me a bit of cover, perhaps.

Turning my gaze to world about me, I jump in the saddle when I catch a one-eyed man's deranged glare. His one eye follows me as I pass him, his figure bobbing with each light hop of the horse. I look to my left and see an elderly woman, splotched and wrinkled skin stretched over her skull. She stares at me, the skin about her eyes crinkling as she hardens them. She too bobs out of my sight as I pass her.

I look all about me. A starved, nude little boy covered with sores, his belly swelled like that of a pregnant woman, a woman holding a dead infant by the leg, a man openly ravishing a screaming woman…everywhere I look, the consequences of Ravenna's reign are apparent. Fear wraps my heart tight in its vices as I take in the hopeless, angered eyes of men, women, and children.

Those wretched animal shrieks fill the air! Looking down the road, the eight Black Glass Knights ride, fast approaching the village!

The people about me scream and run, hiding in their shelters and behind the merchant stalls. I pound his sides. He takes off down the road, snorting as if short of breath with each bound.

I glance over my shoulder, seeing that the Black Glass Knights are a little ways from me, but still chasing me!

The horse jumps! My weight shifts far right in the saddle as a result and I hang onto the saddle for dear life! Dead branches strike my face, mocking my efforts of escaping. I realize that the horse has gone off the road and into the brush.

In the distance, I see that he is heading straight for a forest. A frighteningly dark, dense forest, but perhaps…perhaps it's my salvation.

Gritting my teeth, I pull myself upright in the saddle and pound his middle, intent upon entering the forest. As we near the slanted, looming trees, the horse starts to jump about to compensate for his hooves sticking to the mud!

"Just a bit further!" Over a fallen tree lies the dark border of the forest.

The horse dips his head and springs from the ground over the fallen trunk! I feel him reach the climax of the jump and then the quick descent as I float in the saddle. His hooves strike the mud, but somehow his knees buckle under him! I'm thrown out of the saddle and over his head!

I seal my eyelids, bracing myself for the impact!

Slap! Waves of prickling pain course throughout my quivering muscles as I pull myself from the mud and turn round on all fours. I'll grab the horse and ride him further into the forest.

The horse…his head is completely submerged and his rump is erect in the mud. His tail tendrils and black fur flutter in the gentle breeze, but his muscles once full of life remain still. All the life in him now gone, handicapping me of the great agility I possessed atop his back. Black Knights upon dark steeds materialize past the fallen trunk!

I start to scramble to my feet, but the black horses skid to a halt and rear up, neighing deafeningly. The horses and their Black Knights' shrieks waft through my ears and into my skull, enhancing the fear pushing against my chest and belly!

A Black Glass Knight pulls a heavy ebony bow from his back and loads it with an arrow from his quiver!

Just as he lifts the arrow's head to my skull, I turn back round and stagger away, alternating between my feet and hands to get over fallen trees and past thick trunks.

The trees of this dim, threatening, and gloomy forest grow in on each other, their nonexistent leaves competing for the nonexistent sun. My lungs scrape for the scarce, rank air.

As I climb another fallen log, something pulls back on me! I lose my footing and slip.

Darkness consumes my numb body.

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**Uh oh, uh oh! Well, I wonder what happened. How does darkness consume someone's NUMB body? This can only mean trobule. Wanna find out what happened to her? Guess ya gonna haveta wait! **

**Next update will fall b/w July 24 and 25.**


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